1.0 INTRODUCTION

The Old Blue Eyes Memorial Celebrity Death Watch (OBE) is a game, run by Deathpool Jeff (and his grossly underpaid office staff) in which players pick thirteen celebrities they believe will die in a given calendar year. At the end of the year, the entry with most correct picks wins. There are also second and third place winners and there is a point system used for breaking ties. Cash prizes are awarded. There is no entry fee but Deathpool Jeff will regularly beg for donations. Entry is limited to one list per person and/or team.

As with most things in life (and death) there,s a little more to it than that. That's why we wrote these rules. The rules contained herein constitute the Official Old Blue Eyes Memorial Death Watch rules. The rules reflect years of Death Watch "expertise" and are, frankly put, the best we could come up with after a few beers. Although most of the rules are babbling nonsense, there are actually some important little gems presented as well. READ THE RULES!

As an entrant (Death Watcher) you must abide by all rules presented herein and your participation in the game implies that you agree to all rules presented.

2.0 DEFINITIONS

CELEBRITY is described in painful detail in Section 7.0 of these rules. You had better familiarize yourself with that section buckaroo.

DEATH WATCH, GAME, and OBE are used interchangeably to mean the Old Blue Eyes Memorial Celebrity Death Watch.

ENTRY and LIST are used interchangeably to mean the 13 celebrity names and one Alternate celebrity name submitted by a Death Watcher to participate in the game.

PICK means an individual celebrity name presented on an entry.

DEATH WATCHER, ENTRANT, PARTICIPANT and PLAYER are used interchangeably to mean a person or team who submitted a list to the OBE.

BITE IT, BITE THE DUST, BUY THE FARM, CASH OUT, CROAK, KEEL, KEEL OVER, KICK OFF, KICK THE BUCKET, MEET ONE'S MAKER, PASS-ON, PUSH UP DAISIES and all derivations thereof are used interchangeably to mean die.

3.0 OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Old Blues Eyes Memorial Celebrity Death Watch is for a Death Watcher to correctly guess the most celebrity picks, relative to all other entries, that will bite it in a given calendar year.

Typically Death Watchers select picks considering factors such as age, reported illnesses, lifestyle and public position. However, an entrant is not limited to using these factors. Some Death Watchers prefer to use the game as a form of catharsis and simply submit a list with picks they wish would die. The bottom line is that the technique used to select picks is entirely up to each Death Watcher. That's all part of the fun.

4.0 GAME DURATION

The OBE is an annual contest that runs over the course of each calendar year and uses Eastern Standard Time to establish dates and times. An OBE game officially starts at 12:00 a.m. on January 1 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the same year. All entries for a game must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the year prior to the year of the game to be played. We begin accepting entries for a new game on October 31 of the year prior to the year of the game to be played.

5.0 HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Before considering participation, read all of the rules contained herein and familiarize yourself with the OBE web site located at www.flymetothetomb.com.

Death Watchers are permitted to submit one entry as an individual and/or one entry as a participant on a team. If a Death Watcher submits more than one entry we will simply choose one and throw all the others away. So don't do that.

For the purposes of the game, teams are viewed as individual entrants and are awarded prizes as such. It is up to team members to work out the splitting up of any winnings. We can't be bothered with that malarkey.

To enter, a Death Watcher compiles a list of 13 celebrity picks that they believe will croak between January 1 and December 31 of the upcoming year. In addition, Death Watchers must provide one Alternate celebrity pick with their list. The Alternate will be used in the event a submitted pick dies before the start of the game year. See Section 6.0 THE ALTERNATE for further information.

DEBORAH'S RULE

This was the first Death Watcher inspired rule change! Way back in 1997 Deborah submitted a list with 21 picks and an Alternate for play in the 1998 OBE. The 1998 rules required 20 picks and an Alternate to play. Deborah had two number 11 entries on her list. The Staff informed Deborah that the last pick on her list would be removed making her list the required 20 picks plus an Alternate. As fate would have it, Deborah's last pick was Linda McCartney. Linda keeled over in 1998 making both Deborah and Linda (not to mention Sir Paul) rather glum.

Based on this mishap, we clarified the following: If you submit a list with additional picks, those picks will be removed from the bottom (last pick) up until only 13 picks are left. The Alternate will remain unchanged. No discussions or negotiations will be entertained. Don't bother trying.

All celebrity picks must be listed by common first and last name except where a single name clearly identifies the celebrity (for example: Madonna). In addition, the Death Watcher must indicate who each of their celebrity picks are on the entry (for example: Charlie Sheen, crazy actor). Where a pick could refer to more than one person, the Death Watcher must clearly state who they are referring to (for example: Jason Alexander - Seinfeld Actor vs. Jason Alexander - Britney Spears' first husband). If a Death Watcher fails to clearly define a pick, The Staff will determine whom they believe was intended and that decision will be final.

THE TRANNSFIXUS SED NON MORTIMUS STIPULATION

For the 2006 OBE, TRANNSFIXUS SED NON MORTIMUS entered a list containing the following pick: "Eddie Arnold - Oliver from Green Acres." Of course, it was Eddie ALBERT who was Oliver from Green Acres. Eddy Arnold was a famous singer. The pick was entered as Eddy Arnold, Singer. Unfortunately for TRANNSFIXUS (and for Eddie Albert) Eddie Albert bought the farm that year. TRANNSFIXUS wanted credit and he made a compelling case that it was clear he meant Eddie Albert from the get go. After some debate, we gave TRANNSFIXUS the hit but we were never really jumping for joy about this decision. With that in mind, we came up with this stipulation.

If a list contains a pick that is incorrectly described, no matter how close the submitted and intended names are, we're using the submitted name only. This stipulation doesn't mean you shouldn't describe each pick carefully. It just means you've got to describe each pick correctly as well.

Entries must be submitted on the Official OBE Entry Form or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

Once a Death Watcher's list is complete with 13 picks and one Alternate, it must be delivered to The OBE. Three manners of submitting lists will be accepted.

HAND DELIVERY: Lists may be hand delivered to Deathpool Jeff or any of the staff at the OBE World Headquarters. Hand delivered lists must be in the possession of Deathpool Jeff at or before 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the year prior to the year of the game to be played. If you hand it to us late, it will be torn up in front of you and then make you buy us a beer...or six.

MAIL: Lists may be mailed to The OBE at the address presented below. All mailed entries must be post-marked no later than December 31 of the year prior to the year of the game to be played. Entries with a postmark indicating the year of the game being entered will be discarded.

THE O.B.E. MEMORIAL
P.O. BOX 1454
ST. JOSEPH, MO 64502-1454

EMAIL: Lists may be emailed to The OBE at flymetothetomb@gmail.com. Emailed lists must be received on the OBE server no later than 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the year prior to the year of the game to be played. If an email stamp indicates a list was sent in the year the game is to be played, the email will promptly meet with the delete key.

6.0 THE ALTERNATE

Each list submitted should consist of 13 living celebrity picks and one Alternate living celebrity pick. The Alternate is exercised in the event that one (and only one) of a Death Watcher's submitted picks kicks off before the stroke of midnight on January 1 of the game year. In this case, the Alternate will be used to replace the celebrity that bites it.

The Alternate is only used if the death occurs AFTER a list is postmarked (for mailed or e-mailed lists) or received by hand. A list containing picks that were already dead when the list was prepared simply participates one or more pick(s) short for the duration of the game. The Alternate is not exercised in such cases.

An Alternate may be exercised only once. If more than one celebrity on a submitted list pushes up daisies before the start of a game year, tough luck. In such cases the list will simply play out the year short that pick(s). We know this kinda stinks for the Death Watcher who loses some picks but imagine how the folks who keeled over feel.

If more than one Alternate is listed (yep, that happens) the first Alternate listed will be used. All others will be ignored, shunned, and we'll probably make fun of you as well.

The MORTON SOBELL NOTITIAM MOTEM ELUCIDATION

Mr. Sobell died December 26, 2018 (bad for him, good for us). Much to his chagrin his family didn't report his death until January 30th, 2019, well past the January 10th death announcement cutoff for the 2018 OBE (still bad for him, kinda bad for us), thus disqualifying his death for the 2018 OBE standings. End of story? No. Three people spun the wheel and picked Mr. Sobell for the 2019 game not knowing he had passed (how could they?). Geesh. Since the three lists containing Mr. Sobell were submitted AFTER his death date their alternate pick was not exercised. That doesn't seem so swell.

So to modify the current rule....

If a celebrity dies after a list containing that pick is submitted but in the year immediately prior to the game year and if the death is announced after January 1 of the game year, we will exercise the Alternate pick (if not already exercised). So a late announced death from the prior year will trigger the use of the Alternate. Wow! We need more beer after that one.

7.0 CELEBRITY (aka THE EXOENDO ZUZUBAR REWRITE)

For the first ten years of the OBE, "celebrity" was defined as anyone who got an obituary in the Associated Press. Over time it became obvious that this definition was far too broad and allowed for picks which clearly didn't meet the spirit or intent of the game. We started tweaking the definition in the mid-2000s. These tweaks showed small improvements but still didn't get the game to where we wanted it to be. So, in 2011 we completely altered the manner in which we define "celebrity" for the purposes of the OBE. The new approach was dubbed THE EXOENDO ZUZUBAR REWRITE because all year EXOENDO asked to have it named as such and frankly, The Staff felt sorry for the little bugger. So ZUZUBAR, here's your 15-minutes of fame. Revel in it....

Several factors must be met in order for a pick to meet the definition of celebrity. Here they are....

ALIVE. The pick must be alive at the date and time the list is mailed, emailed or hand delivered. A pick already dead when placed on a list will be removed from that list. The submitting Death Watcher loses the pick from their list and plays out the season with a reduced number of picks on their entry. The Alternate is not exercised in these situations.

HUMAN. A celebrity must be a human being. No animals, fictional characters, or other non-humans.

GENUINELY A CELEBRITY. A celebrity must be, well, super famous, a big name, a darn tootin' famous person whose name or likeness is known by lots of people, including those outside of the pick's typical sphere, because of famous or infamous acts. Here's what that means....

7.1 GENUINELY A CELEBRITY CRITERIA

The following criteria must be met for a pick to be considered Genuinely a Celebrity. If these criteria are not met, the pick will be removed and the Alternate will not be exercised. The pick will be replaced with the dreaded ***Not A Celebrity***."

A pick must be a well known celebrity who is readily identifiable by the "OBE Memorial Fame Committee" or who, when briefly researched by us is easily identifiable as very famous. Here's a tiny bit of guidance.

7.1.1 HOW DOES THE "OBE MEMORIAL FAME COMMITTEE" VIEW CELEBRITY?

Recognizing that "celebrity" is, to some extent, subjective and personal makes defining the term for the purposes of the OBE difficult. Furthermore, age, education, interests, and geography also make "celebrity" a tough concept to pin down. We know this. We accept it. The thing is, we've also got a Death Watch to run. To that end, here are the three general objective and subjective criteria we use to determine "celebrity."

REPORTABLE: In order for a pick to be considered a Celebrity, their death must be reported in the AP.

RECOGNIZABLE ("Oh yeah, I know him/her"): A Celebrity must have at least one of the following to the committee: immediate name recognition, immediate face recognition, or immediate character recognition. Keep reading, we'll explain where we're headed.

JODY & JOHN’S RULE

Here's the second Death Watcher related rule ever created. Back in December of 1998 Jody and John scoured the Internet for the names of really old people they figured would get AP obits (the only criteria at the time). They then proceeded to put some of these folks on their lists for the 1999 OBE. Two things happened. First, one lady died and didn't get an AP mention. Second, the fellas didn't even remember who some of their entries were or what the hell made them even remotely famous.

The rule is this: You need to know who your entries are and must be able to prove a mention of their deaths in the AP if asked. Inability to produce such mention of death in the AP, if asked, will cause us to consider your dead person ***Not A Celebrity***. ***Not A Celebrity*** picks do not count as valid picks in the pool and are not counted in a Death Watchers final score.

VERIFIABLE: The recognizable aspect of a pick must be verifiable by entering the pick's name into Google and having the first several hits verify the pick and the underlying reason for the pick's recognition.

7.1.2 ABOUT THE FAME COMMITTEE'S FRAMES OF REFERENCE

Since there is a good deal of subjectivity on how the three members of the Fame Committee determines "celebrity", here are some of their characteristics. Hopefully this will help Death Watchers see how The Committee may consciously or unconsciously make decisions.

*Two members were born in the late 1960s and grew-up (so to speak) in New Jersey, USA. Specifically, they were raised in the greater Metro-New York area. One member was born in the mid 1960's and grew up in the midwest, specifically in the Kansas City area.

*All three members are college educated, one in the liberal arts, one in the sciences and one in banking and finance.

*One member leans left politically, one member leans right, and one member is middle of the road but hates both parties equally. All follow national and international affairs.

*Two members are not big into professional sports and one member does follow headlines and championships. All members keep up on the news in general including the big names in sports.

*All members have a sick fascination with popular culture, entertainment industry especially. One member is better in the 1940’s-1970's, one member is better in the 1970's-1990's, with the third member versed in the 1950's thru the 1990's. All three have a pretty good handle on the here and now.

*All members have a pretty good handle on movies, theatre, and music.

Let's take a look at the broad pools from which a Death Watcher can pick celebrities and make some comments, shall we...

ACTORS/ACTRESSES: This category will likely get the most leeway from us. Any actor/actress with immediate name recognition is going to count. Think of Tom Hanks, Gene Wilder, and Lauren Bacall. Think more star than supporting role. Additionally, actors/actresses who have widespread face recognition will count. Think of the "Where’s the beef?" lady. Finally, there are folks who are so well known for a character they play (or have played) that the character name eclipses the Celebrity's name. As long as the character is widely known, such actors will count too. Think Jim Varney (Ernest goes to..) or Will Lee (Mr. Hooper). Note however that Mr. Varney and Mr. Lee are both already dead.

The key here is widespread notoriety and ease of recognition by name, face, or character.

MUSICIANS: This one proves to be the toughest category for us. As should be obvious, folks like Cher, Madonna, and Paul McCartney are celebrities. That's easy! But what about members in well-known bands? Sure Bono is a celebrity and maybe the Edge too, but the drummer from U2, pretty much no. Some bands are celebrity loaded. Think The Who. Other bands have a celebrity front man and the rest are not celebrities. Think Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Bottom line, if you're picking musicians, make sure they're big names or the big name in their celebrity band.

This is going to come down to our judgment to a great extent. Recognizing that this is the case, don't push the envelope silly.

POLITICIANS: Presidents and vice presidents are all going to count (so will first ladies by the way). Not all senators, not all congresspersons and not all cabinet members will count. Think big names or folks involved with big scandals, big events, etc. Otherwise, forget it. The same holds true on the international scene. Don't submit some member of the UK parliament unless he got caught sucking the toes of an 80 year old transvestite in a Ferris wheel at a church carnival. Get it? Got it? Good.

ATHLETES: This category is probably the toughest for Death Watchers. None of the Committee is big into the sports world. Sure we follow a bit of baseball and football. Certainly we know the BIG names. But folks, not every hall of famer is a celebrity. In fact, most are likely not celebrities. Reggie Jackson: Celebrity. Vida Blue: Sure. Bobby Orr: You betcha. Joe Namath: Absolutely (heck, based on Love Boat and Brady Bunch appearances alone!). You want to go for a lesser known great player. Go for it. We'll probably knock it off the list. Fair? Not really. But that's the way it is fanatics.

BUSINESS LEADERS: Dudes, Bill Gates…yes. Alan Mulally….not so much.

OTHERS: What the heck is an others? Well, Paris Hilton is one. So was Foster Brookes. They're celebrities because they are, well, celebrities (for better or worse). Others include scientists, academics, and various notables. Again folks, big names only. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, sure. But don't you dare submit the Russian Secretary of Agriculture unless he was dressed as a woman getting his toes sucked by some British dude on a Ferris wheel.

Finally, to further assist Death Watchers, we post a list of people we have already approved as celebrities. Just click on the Jesus Frank Sinatra on the main page of the web site to review the list.

7.2 DEFINITELY ***Not A Celebrity***

The following classes of people will not be considered celebrities even if they meet the above criteria. If a Death Watcher enters their names on a list, they will be removed from the entry and replace it with ***Not A Celebrity***. The Alternate will not be exercised.

AGE ALONE: A pick whose celebrity status is contingent on words such as "World's oldest...," "Oldest Person in..." or any other similar age qualifier will not be considered a valid pick. Read it again. No oldest person, man, woman, or hermaphrodite in the world, in Kansas, in Guam, or in any other gosh darn place.

ILLNESS ALONE: A pick whose celebrity status is contingent on an illness suffered by that person will not be considered a valid pick. That means no cancer sufferers who walk cross country or take bike rides for awareness, etc. (well, except for maybe Lance Armstrong).

REALATIONSHIP ALONE: A pick whose celebrity status is contingent on their relationship to another celebrity will not be considered a valid pick. No "mother of," "father of," "sister of," "brother of," "wife of," "husband of," or any other darn relationship familial or otherwise of. Picks like John Voight (father of Angelina Jolie but also a well known actor) are good. Picks like Vergie Arthur (Anna Nicole Smith's mother) are bad - very bad!

SCHEDULED EXECUTION: Any pick who is killed by a scheduled execution: foreign, federal, or state, (this does not include assassination, overthrow, or coup d'etat) will not be considered a valid pick. The idea here is that capital punishment, political prisoners condemned to death, or the like don't count as a celebrities if they die from a scheduled execution.

LIFE SUPPORT ALONE: Any pick who has a feeding tube removed, a respirator removed, or any other life support removed and whose celebrity status is contingent on the issue of such a removal will not be considered a valid pick.

ALREADY RULED ON: No pick for which The Committee have previously ruled ***Not A Celebrity*** will be accepted unless circumstances surrounding the pick have changed allowing them to meet one or more of the criteria in Section 7.0. We always post those picks we knocked off of lists for the current game year here. Players can also access this list from the main page at the web site using the Not Celebrities link.

THE RONNIE HAWKINS REQUIREMENT

If one or more of your picks is deemed ***Not a Celebrity***, there will be absolutely no belly-aching, whining, snivelling, wincing, guffawing, or donning of faux expressions of shock allowed. Furthermore, you are forbidden to bring up said deeming of said un-celebrity-like person in any bar where you are having a few beers with us. Don't do it. Never. Not even once. Ronnie Hawkins, puh-lease.

8.0 DEATH

For purposes of the OBE, death means "the death of a celebrity" (as outlined in SECTION 7.0.) occurring between 12:00 a.m. EST on January 1 and 11:59 p.m. EST on December 31 of the year of the game in play. Deaths announced in a current game year that occurred in a prior game year will not count in the current game year.

In addition, for a death to count, the announcement of death (via the Associated Press) must be made between 12:00 a.m. on January 1 of the game year and 11:59 p.m. on January 10 of the year immediately following the game year. This allows ten days following the New Year to hear about a death. At that point, the winners of the OBE are announced and the whole OBE for the preceding year comes to an end. If a pick death is announced after the deadline, that death will not count towards the OBE for the preceding year.

9.0 WINNING

The list with the most correct picks at the end of the game year is the first place winner. The list with the second most correct picks at the end of the game year is the second place winner. The list with the third most correct picks at the end of the game year is the third place winner. The first place prize (assuming a single winner) will be $400. The prize for the second place winner (assuming a single winner) will be $200. The prize for the third place winner (assuming a single winner) will be $100

10.0 BREAKING TIES

In order to establish a tie breaking system, each dead celebrity pick will have a point value associated with them. In the event of two or more Death Watchers having the same number of correct picks at the end of an OBE game, the sum of the points on each tied list will be used to determine the score for that list. The highest score will take the First Place winner's position with each lower score being eliminated from that winner's position. The criteria will then be applied for each subsequent winner's position.

For example, three lists with 8 deaths each (presuming 8 deaths is the highest number of correct picks for all entries) and scores of 16, 12, and 10 respectively would place as follows: First Place-8 deaths, 16 points and the remaining two players with 8 deaths listed being eliminated from First Place. The eliminated First Place folks are then tested for Second Place, and so on. This process will be used to break ties in first, second and/or third place positions as needed.

Because there are second and third place winners, a tie-breaker in the first place position will end up creating the second place winner (or winners in the event of a multiple way tie). The same holds true for third place. In the event of a tie-breaker in the third place position, one or more poor chumps will be telling all their friends how they "almost won" the OBE.

The tie-breaking system means that, although the number of deaths is the primary factor in determining winners, score will be used to separate players with the same number of deaths into the placing positions, knocking other players with one death less further down in the running.

10.1 AWARDING POINTS

So how the heck do the points get awarded? Well, during a given OBE game year, each dead celebrity on one list and ONLY one list will be awarded 5 points. These picks are called "Maurice Sendaks." A dead celebrity appearing on two lists and ONLY two lists is awarded 4 points. These picks are called "Double Whammies." Celebrity deaths listed on 3 or 4 lists are awarded 3 points each. These picks are called "Mortage a Trois." Celebrity Deaths on 5 or more lists get 1 point. These picks are called "Pathetically Easy Picks."

Remember, the primary factor in winning the OBE is NOT score, it is the number of marked off picks you have at the conclusion of game year. It is conceivable that a higher scoring list will have fewer deaths than a lower scoring list. The higher scoring list, in such cases, will NOT beat the list with more deaths. The number of marked off picks on a list is the key factor to winning. Score will only be used to break ties.

10.2 TIES AFTER TIE-BREAKERS

In the event of a tie(s), even after the tie-breaking scoring system is applied, the Baby Crushers' Directive (aka BCD) will be used as outlined below.

BABY CRUSHERS' DIRECTIVE

Where two entries win first place after the tie breaking criteria are applied, the prizes for first and second place will be combined and that total will be split evenly amongst the two winning entrants. No second place prize will be awarded in this case.

Where three or more entries win first place after the tie breaking criteria are applied, the prizes for first, second and third place will be combined and that total will be split evenly amongst the three or more winning entrants. No other prizes will be awarded in this case.

Where two or more entries win second place after the tie breaking criteria are applied, the prizes for second and third place will be combined and that total will be split evenly amongst the two or more winning entrants. No third place prize will be awarded in this case.

In the event that two or more entries win third place after the tie breaking criteria are applied, the prize for third place will be be split evenly amongst the two or more winning entrants.

10.3 AN ALL WAY TIE FOR LAST

In the unlikely event that not a single picked celebrity dies in a game year, no prizes will be awarded. We will keep the prize money, drink ourselves stupid and start over next year. Don't count on this one happening.

11.0 FEE FOR ENTRY

THERE IS NO FEE TO ENTER THE OBE!!! Yup, it's free. You are however, limited to ONE entry per individual and/or team. Now, and we're damn serious about this part, we will accept donations.

Just because there is no fee doesn't mean you shouldn't send money. We love donations. Donations have kept this game running since its inception. To that end, We kindly request that you submit with your entry, $5-$10 USD. Do you have to? No. Should you? Yes! Why? Karma.

Running the OBE costs costs about $300 dollars a year plus time and prize money (which varies year to year). We pay for an ISP, a domain name, a P.O. Box and the prizes. Donations are used to cover costs and seed the prizes. Where donations exceed the cost of running the OBE, the excess goes to increasing future prizes.

We started the OBE with a single $50 dollar out-of-pocket prize. The game prizes currently total $700. Should things continue this way, we hope to offer larger prizes in the future. It's really up to The Death Watchers.

Remember, you don't have to give us a red cent to play the OBE but it sure would be nice if you did. Even if you email your entry in, you can always send that generous $5-$10 donation to us at the P.O. Box listed in the Entry section of the rules. Five to ten measly bucks ain't much for a year of heartfelt chuckles and you know it. And yeah, you can send cash in the mail. Heck, that Unabomber dude sent all kinds of crap in the mail, $5-$10 won't hurt anyone. Also, you can use PayPal! Yup, there is a link to PayPal at the OBE web site. Just make a donation there! Please...

12.0 WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

Right off the bat we'll tell you that Deathpool Jeff does not officially participate in the game. Each year he'll post a list for fun but cannot win any prizes.

Anyone with a sense of the absurdity of it all can play. However, persons must be 18 years or older to collect cash winnings. So if a wanna-be Death Watcher is younger than 18, they should participate on a team with a legal guardian or parent. In cases where minors participate on a team with parents or guardians all prize money will be awarded in the name of the parent or guardian. Should we find a participant is below the age of 18 and not participating with a legal guardian or parent, we will award the prize money to a legal guardian or parent only. If the minor fails to provide us with the name and address of such a parent or guardian within 30 days of notification of winner status, the minor will forfeit all prize money. Furthermore, we will tell on you.

13.0 WHAT DEATHPOOL JEFF AND HIS AMAZING OFFICE STAFF DO?

We drink beer, watch TV, follow celebrity news, and crack wise. Oh, they also do this stuff...

We act as managers and sole decision makers for the OBE. Our decisions are final (unless we change our minds) and may not be disputed by Death Watchers.

We reserve the right to alter, waive, omit, and add rules to the OBE as we deem necessary. We shall not use such rights for our personal financial gain or for the financial gain of family, friends, acquaintances, or business relations.

We are the judges, jury and, well no, we're not the executioners, but we are the judges and the jury.

If a potential Death Watcher does not trust the judgment of Deathpool Jeff and his staff they should not participate in the OBE. This fact is more important than ever in light of the "fine tuned" definition of celebrity outlined in THE EXOENDO ZUZUBAR REWRITE. If you think that you can argue with us about picks we remove from your list, think again.

We are not responsible for the obligations, financial or other, of any Death Watcher. Each Death Watcher is solely responsible for any and all financial and legal obligations brought on them by their participation in the OBE.

The most important role for us is to let the Death Watchers have some fun. Think of us as a ray of sunshine on a bleak and dreary day. Consider us a coke and a smile. Aw hell, just keep reading.

14.0 AWARDING THE PRIZES

Winners will be notified by email and, if necessary, by regular mail no later than January 30 of the year following the game year won. Prizes will be awarded no later than February 23 of the year following the game year won. Death Watchers agree that, in the event we are challenged by any legal authority, we have the sole right to determine whether or not prize money is distributed.

15.0 THE NOT SO FINE PRINT

1) The O.B.E was created and is managed by us for fun. We do not condone, nor will we be held responsible for any illegal acts of Death Watchers. Any Death Watcher who breaks any federal, state, or local laws or regulations in conjunction with their participation in the OBE is automatically disqualified from the OBE. So no, you can't kill people to win. Not only is that poor form, there are definitely legal ramifications to deal with.

2) The tracking of the OBE will be done on the OBE web site located at www.flymetothetomb.com.

3) To contact us by mail or email write us at:

THE O.B.E. MEMORIAL
P.O. BOX 1454
St. Joseph, MO 64502-1454
Email: flymetothetomb@gmail.com

Please include an email or telephone number where you can be reached.

4) If you hear about a death, drop us an e-mail. It will certainly help us keep this thing going. Since we post all the entries, pay special attention for names that appear on posted lists but don't hesitate to e-mail with other names too.

5) If you're late with your entry it will be destroyed. You will not be allowed to participate. See the information above. Come on, can't ya be on time for once?

6) Obviously you gotta play by the rules.

7) We reserve the right to disqualify participants and the right to cancel the OBE should either or both become necessary. It will be our sole decision as to whether or not donations are refunded following a contest cancellation.

8) Participation in the OBE is void where prohibited by law.

9) By participating in the OBE Death Watchers agree to all Rules and Regulations set forth in this document. Death Watchers agree that all taxes, regulations and liabilities related to a Death Watcher's participation in the OBE are the sole responsibility of said Death Watchers.

10) Participation in the OBE is considered an indication by the participant that:
a) They release us from all obligations associated with prizes awarded and,
b) They grant us full and free use of their entry names when used in reference to their participation in the OBE.

11) It would behoove all entrants to join the OBE email list (click on the 'Join OBE Mail List' link on the web site at www.flymetothetomb.com). Emails are sent to notify entrants on the latest OBE breaking news, information, events and death bulletins as they become available.

Now, let's get back to something a bit more interesting?